Royal Professor Ungku Aziz bin Ungku Abdul Hamid

JOHOR PROMINENT LEADER

ROYAL PROFESSOR UNGKU AZIZ BIN
UNGKU ABDUL HAMID

Student’s Profile

Name & Class Email Address
Teng Ying Ying
[email protected]
4 Al- Farabi [email protected]

SMK Tasek Utara 2 Jalan Taruka Off Jalan Datin
School’s Name Halimah 80350 Johor Bahru,

Johor
School’s Address

Introduction

Royal Professor Ungku Aziz bin Ungku Abdul Hamid is a Malaysia Economist with so many achievements there in his hand. His tremendous work not to be forgotten. The list of his
contribution to the country is so meaningful and continuous until now. He is a ‘guru’ in the economic and education sector. A great leader he was, it was quoted by the University Malaya
staff that he’d give them all his attentions and help when it was a legimate concern. A great leader is always there to motivate and drives people forward. The particular leader has the
ability to persuade others to follow his vision, and there was Ungku Abdul Aziz, to lead his followers His achievements are remarkable and are there for us to idolize. Moreover, his
brilliant opinions and guidance beyond the academic circles has tremendously helps the nation and contributed to more new discovery and development of education and science in
Malaysia and other Asian countries.

Biography Of Royal Professor Ungku Aziz

 Name: Royal Professor Dr. Ungku Abdul Aziz bin Ungku Abdul Hamid
 Born Date : 28 January 1922
 Died: 15 December 2020 (98 years old) Prince Court Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
 Nationality: British, Malaysia
 Origin: London, United Kingdom
 Occupation: Economist, Lecturer
 Known for: The only person that hold the title of Royal Professor in Malaysia
 Achievement throughout the life :

 3rd Vice-Chancellor of The University Malaya (1968 – 1988)
 1st General Director of the Council on Language and Literature of Malaysia (Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka ) (1956-1957)

Family Background

 He is a descendant of the royal family of Johor. His father, Ungku Abdul Hamid Ungku Abdul Majid was a Lieutenant in the Johor Deputy Setia Negeri (JMF) army.
 His mother was named Hamidah binti Abdullah, an English woman. In 1924, his mother died when Ungku Aziz was two years old.
 After being born in London, he was taken back to Batu Pahat, Johor. His grandfather, Ungku Abdul Majid took him to travel all over Europe.
 His father was an intelligent man and had studied at Cambridge University and could speak Persian, Arabic and Sanskrit.
 He was married to Sharifah Azah Aziz and was blessed with a daughter, Y.M. Tan Sri Dato 'Sri Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz, former Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia.
 He was also a cousin of the eminent Muslim intellectual, Y.M. Tan Sri Prof. Dr. Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas.
• After the death of his first wife, he married the former Vice President of Angkatan Koperasi Kebangsaan Malaysia Berhad, Rohayah Ahmad Bahiran @ Rahaiah Baheran.
• He inherited the wisdom of his father who had studied at Cambridge University and was fluent in three languages ​namely Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit.
• He was a cousin to the Al-Attas brothers (Syed Hussein, Syed Muhammad Naquib and Syed Zedal) and Sultan Ibrahim ibni Sultan Abu Bakar from his father's side.
• His wife is a famous cultural figure, the late Azah Aziz, where the result of their marriage gave birth to a child, Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz. Tan Sri Zeti previously served as the Governor

of Bank Negara (2000-2016) and now fills the position of Chairman of Kumpulan Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB).

Academic Career

 PhD (Waseda); Decon; DipArts; BA (UM); HonDLitt (Pitt); HonEdD (Chulalongkorn); HonLLD (Waseda); HonDLitt (Warwick); HonLLD (Strathclyde); DeEkon (Keh) (UKM);
HonLLD (Buckingham)

 WASEDA UNIVERSITY, TOKYO JAPAN
 Doctor of Philosophy degree in economics in 1964

 UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA, SINGAPORE(UM)
 Bachelor of Art (Economist) in 1951

 RAFFLES COLLAGE, SINGAPORE
 Diploma in Arts in 1947

 SECONDARY AND PRIMARY SCHOOL
 Sekolah Melayu, Batu Pahat
 English College, Johor Bahru
 Bukit Zahrah School

Early Career

ECONOMIC’S LECTURER
 When Ungku Aziz entered into a career in academia, his career proved to be exceptional both in its longevity and in its brilliance. Since his arrival at the university in 1952, Ungku Aziz

has taught as a Lecturer in Economics at the University of Malaya, obtained full professorship, became the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, and then Dean of the Faculty of Economics and
Administration.

VICE CHANCELLOR
 In 1968, Ungku Aziz ascended to the helm of the university and succeeded Dr J.H.E. Griffiths as Vice Chancellor of the University of Malaya, becoming both the first Malaysian and the

longest serving person to hold the post. Having received a Royal Professorship in 1978. He remains the sole Malaysian to hold the title. Ungku Aziz retired as Vice Chancellor in 1988.
As an Emeritus Professor after retirement, Ungku Aziz has not stood still. He holds directorships in several companies and continues to be involved in many national and international
institutions. He is the first Malaysian to hold the post and the longest serving Vice-Chancellor with the university for about 20 years.

POETRISE
 Ungku Aziz's devotion to his academic career has not detracted from his enjoyment of other pursuits. He remains a voracious reader, to the point of having to limit his purchases to no

more than six books at a time. Ungku Aziz is also an aficionado of Malay poetry and is currently compiling a database of traditional Malay pantun (poetic couplets). Ungku Aziz has
enjoyed the art of photography from an early age, with his interest extending beyond merely taking pictures to darkroom photograph development.

Career/Service

 1951: Joined the Johor Civil Service (JCS)
 1952-1961: Lecturer in Economics at the University of Malaya Singapore
 1961-1965: Professor and Dean at the Faculty of Economics, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur.
 1968-1988: Vice Chancellor of the University of Malaya (UM)
 He is the first Malaysian to hold the post and the longest serving Vice-Chancellor with the university for about 20 years.
 On his initiative, the University created the Botanical Garden, the Museum of Asian Art, and a cooperative bookstore. When he led UM, student exchanges began to take place

between the University of Malaya and the Institute of Eastern Languages (​ later the Institute of Asian and African Countries) at Moscow National University (since 1970).

Career

LECTURER
 Royal Professor Ungku Abdul Aziz started his career in the civil service with the Johor State Government. In 1952 he made his way into the academic world when he was accepted as

a lecturer in Economics at the University of Malaya. He was appointed Professor and Head of the Department of Economics for five (5) years starting in 1961 before holding the
position of Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Administration in 1965 to 1968.
PRESIDENT OF ANGKASA
 Royal Professor Ungku Abdul Aziz made history when he was appointed Vice Chancellor, University of Malaya for twenty (20) years from 1968 to 1988. During that period he also
held the position of President of ANGKASA, a position he holds to date, and served as Advisor or Member of the Advisory Committee to several local and international institutions.
His contribution to the country was not only in the field of Academia, but also led to the idea of ​establishing Tabung Haji and became the Founding Director of Dewan Bahasa dan
Pustaka. His first role held by Ungku Abdul Aziz bin Ungku Abdul Hamid to the country is The originator of the idea of ​the establishment, and the President, Angkatan Koperasi
Kebangsaan Malaysia Berhad (ANGKASA) (March 1971-)
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
 Royal Professor Ungku Abdul Aziz during the years 1971 to 2005, has been awarded multiple honorary degrees from local and international institutions. Among them, Doctor of
Humane Letters from the University of Pittsburgh, Doctor of Education from Chulalongkorn University, Royal Professor of Economics by DYMM Yang DiPertuan Agong, Doctor of
Laws from the University of Strathclyde and Doctor of Economics from the University of Malaya.

Achievements

ACADEMICIAN
 In recognition of his career as an outstanding academician and his contributions to society, Ungku Aziz has been bestowed with numerous awards and honours,
including the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France), the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure (Japan), the Tun Abdul Razak Foundation Award
(Malaysia). Ungku Aziz has also received many honorary degrees from universities worldwide.

GOVERNANCE COUNCIL, SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC FINANCE, BANK NEGARA MALAYSIA
 One of the member INCEIF Governing Council from 2006-2009

LEMBAGA URUSAN DAN TABUNG HAJI
• The idea for the establishment of Lembaga Urusan Dan Tabung Haji in 1962

FIRST DIRECTOR GENERAL OF DEWAN BAHASA DAN PUSAKA
 Founder of the idea of t​ he establishment and First Director in 1956

Ungku Aziz’s Contribution

1. POVERTY ERADICATION AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
 First Ungku Aziz has been responsible for a number of researches in attempting to address domestic poverty. The subject, Close to his heart has spurred him to research the root

causes of rural poverty in Malaysia as well as identifying methods by which to alleviate poverty.
 Ungku Aziz formulated the sarong index as a measure of rural poverty and the Theory of Neglect as the reason behind rural poverty. He has posited three main factors were the

causative agents of Malaysian rural poverty, namely low Productivity, Discrimination and Institutionalised obstacles.
 His work was instrumental in spurring governmental rural poverty development programmes aimed at bemefiting the impoverished peasants and village folks. Ungku Aziz has

constanly sought to improve the level of opportunities available to the rural community and system from his work in poverty eradication.

Ungku Aziz’s Contribution

2.TABUNG HAJI
 The creation of Lembaga Urusan dan Tabung Haj(the pilgrim’s Fund and Management Board, generally referred to as Tabung Haji) was among Ungku Aziz’s most significant

accomplishment. The idea behind Tabung Haji was to provide an avenue for muslims to save money in order to perform the Haj.
 Tabung Haji in its dual role, is responsible for preparing pilgrims for the Haja and managing the logistical issues of the pilgrimage such as plane tickets and accommodation.In its

fund management role, in accordance with its Islamic focus, Ungku Aziz introduced profit sharing in line with the Sharia principle as a mean of income generation for the accrued
deposits in Tabung Haji.

Ungku Aziz’s Contribution

3.CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NATIONAL COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT
 As a mean of alleviating poverty and of encouraging rural poverty and development, Ungku Aziz has strongly backed the Malaysian co-operative movement. He has

served as the ANGKASA, the national Co-operative Organisation of Malaysia, an organisation that acts as the apex body for Malaysian co-operatives and which
also aims to educate the Malaysia public on the benefits of co-operatives. In addition, Ungku Aziz served as a chairman of the University of Malaya Co-operative
Book Shop from 1968 to 2002 and remains one of its directors.

Leadership Value: Understanding

 He understood the problem of Muslims to get money in perfoming Haj as going to Mecca required big amount of money.
 Ungku Aziz created Tabung Haji to provide an avenue for Muslims to save money in order to perform the Haj.
 Ungku Aziz ensured Tabung Haji is responsible for preparing pilgrims for the Haj and managing the logistical issues of the pilgrimage, such as plane tickets and

accommodation.
 His passion and determinations to help the poor arose the will for him to solve the problems of rural poverty, this is especially vital to a multiethnic country like

Malaysia as this problems is directly involved and connected to the nation's survival rates.

Leadership value:Successful

 Royal Professor Ungku Aziz is a successful leader and he is knowledgebale to make people satisfied with themselves by accretion their self esteem.
 He’s achievements also bring in rewards for himself such as Rank of the Royal Profesor in 1978 awarded by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia, Japan Foundation Award in

1981, National Merdeka Award in 2008 and Rochdale Award in 2009.
 Ungku Aziz was the first director of Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) when it was established in Johor Baru in 1956. His interest in all things literary is legendary.
 Royal Professor Ungku Abdul Aziz is a successful economist in Malaysia, as he has made Malaysia proud by all his achievements not only in Malaysia's economic studies but

other field like educations and human resource development.

Conclusion

Royal Professor Ungku Aziz is a great professor and a true prominent leader. I could not write about such a great leader without turning him into a hero. I am truly eager to
get to know himself as a prominent leader and how he managed to bring out his best for his career. Royal Professor Ungku Aziz is the one that everyone should ever idolize
him. I choose him as a prominent leader in my life because he indeed never gave up upgrading himself even though his early education was interrupted by the second world
war and the Japanese occupation.

Reference

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ungku_Abdul_Aziz
 https://www.merdekaaward.my/the-award/past-recipients/education-community/royal-professor-ungku-abdul-aziz-bin-ungku-abdul-h
 http://atynazihabdullah.blogspot.com/2013/07/blog-post_22.html